5 Types of Offices for Startups

List of Office Types for Startups

There are various types of offices for businesses. When you took the leap to become a businessman, one of the first things you need to decide is which type of office is suitable for your business and delivers value- for- money. Setting- up an office is a crucial investment for your business. Here, I will give you a detailed description of the different types of offices for startups.

There are 5 main types of offices mainly: Home Offices, Virtual Offices, Co- working Spaces, Rental and Leased Offices.

Home Office

For new businesses or startups, having a Home Office is the easiest and cheapest way to start and operate a business. You can turn your home, apartment or rooms, and even garages to an office. The space might be limited and cramped and you might be a bit distracted with roommates or kids. But for those who just started out their own business, and still seeking funding from bank, investors and Venture Capitalists (VC), this is the most practical way to start working on your business. You can also register your physical office in your home address. Popular, known and global companies such as Apple, Facebook and Alibaba begun with the Home Office type.

Virtual Office

When you want a formal office in a prime business district in your city, but without the hassle of being physically there everyday, you can opt to have a Virtual Office. When you want your business to be registered in a prime, sought- after and known district with less the cost or expenses, then a Virtual Office is the best option for you. It is becoming more popular to businesses who wants to have a flexible way to work and operates internationally with presence in various countries outside US.
There are several companies that offer Virtual Offices. One of the most known companies is ServCorp which has 21 office buildings in the United States and also 140 locations outside US. Servcorp offers Virtual Offices in premier locations in the US namely Atlanta, Miami, Boston, New York, Chicago, Orange County, Dallas, Philadelphia, Houston, San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Washingon DC. You can check out the Virtual Offices housed in high- rise buildings near you by clicking on these sites: Virtual Office and Servcorp.

One of the primary features offered by Servcorp is that when clients and customers call your trunkline or office telephone number, this will be answered by your own full-time, professional receptionist, who will forward the call to you or to any relevant department. Once a mail arrives, you will be notified by the receptionist. Furthermore, when you have a business meeting with an important client, VIP or potential investors, you can use Executive Meeting Rooms or Boardrooms.

Another company that offers Virtual Office and also Shared Offices is Regus which has office buildings in over 3, 000 locations in 120 countries. Its offices are located at US, UK, Canada, Middle East, Africa, Latin America, Europe, and Asia- Pacific including the Philippines which you can access here: Regus Office Locations.
Furthermore, our company, Bizceed International’s global headquarters is housed in one of Regus office buildings.

You can check out their packages here by clicking on this link: Regus Virtual Office packages. With Regus Virtual Offices, you can choose to register your business in a known business center in your city or other cities in the US or in countries abroad.

One of the advantages of Regus office buildings is their accessible and convenient locations, amenities, shared facilities, security and ease of setting- up an office or transferring and expanding to another Regus office worldwide.
One thing that I like of working in a Regus office is its location, good working environment, polite staff where a receptionist will receive and hand your mails to you, able cleaning staff which keeps the floor clean and sanitary, shared facilities, and most of all, networking with other startup and established companies working in Regus.

On the other hand, the third option that you have is Your Office which offers different packages depending on your needs. You can check out their website by clicking on this link: Your Office.Your Office has Virtual Offices in buildings located at Alabama, Philadelphia, Florida and Colorado, to name a few.

Co-working Spaces

Co-working Space is gaining more popularity nowadays. Co- working spaces makes you feel like you are working at a coffee- shop where you can lounge much longer, enjoy a cup of coffee and good ambience and work the day or night away. It is the most popular set- up for new businesses or startups, with one or more than one team members, and also freelancers and specialists. The term “co-working space” applies to sharing workspace with workers or business owners and startups with various backgrounds and companies. One of the advantages of co- working spaces is the flexible way of working, which means you can go there anytime and work. You can also get to meet new people, and network with these startups and business owners, and learn about their experience and expertise. Who knows, you can get a thing or two, about how to succeed in business, how to get new customers and potential investors or expand to new markets, from other specialists and entrepreneurs like you.
The good thing about Co- working Spaces is their comfortable and beautifully- designed spaces plus amenities suitable for startups, freelancers, designers, geeks, working students, seasoned businessmen and professionals. It’s like an enclave to shut out the noisy world outside where you can focus on the work that truly matters to you, and also create products and services, that will positively impact people’s lives and make a difference. Another advantage is that you don’t need to buy office furniture since Co- working Spaces are complete with amenities such as wi-fi internet, tables and chairs, printers, telephones, faxes and coffee dispenser. Plus, if you’re located in metropolitan cities, you’ll pay fraction of the cost with co-working spaces, rather than having to rent an office.

For those who have just started their own business, and has small funding or no- funding at all, you can start working at Co- working Spaces.

Companies that offer Co- working Spaces are WeWork, Idea Space, Jelly, and UrbanHive.
Wix, in particular, offers co- working space for no- costs at all, yes, absolutely free! But there’s a catch though, you can only avail of it when you are a member of Wix user community. You can go to the Wix office, avail of the unlimited coffee brew, connect with their WIFI, isn’t it amazing? So go and register here by clicking on this link: Wix Free Co- working Space.

WeWork offers Co- working Spaces with rates starting at $45 per month where member can access workspaces of their choice anytime and anywhere. WeWork also offers office spaces starting at $350 per month. It has presence in 19 locations in over 19 states- US, Israel and London. You can check out their rates and locations by clicking on this link: WeWork.

Rental Offices

When you decide to have your own physical office, you can choose to rent a large space or unit where you can work, operate or manufacture your products and services. Rental offices are often on a monthly basis to the landlord. Depending on the location and size, Rental Offices can be more expensive compared to other types of offices, and also imply costs on your part.

If you’re looking for an office for the short- term or just testing the waters whether the location suits your business, the best option you can have is the Rental Office type.

Just to give you a tip, choose a suitable location that is accessible, convenient, and has lots of foot traffic. The benefits of Rental Offices is the privacy, security and convenience of having an office that you can truly call your own.

Leased offices

On the other hand, leased offices come with a fixed term usually six- months, one- year or five- years contract with the landlord or company owning the unit or building. The contract in leased offices, compared to rental offices, are more fixed and binding.